Monday, November 3, 2014

Today I decided I no longer liked my About Me Sidebar. It didn't match my layout, ya know? The fonts were all wrong and the colors were barely visible. So, long story short, I made a change.

I logged into my Handy Dandy Photoshop and got started.

I created a new Layer, 300 x 700 pixels and select "Okay". A white rectangle will pop up, that's your new layer.

I then opened the image I wanted at the top. I wanted it to be a rectangle for now, rather than the typical circle seen everywhere. I'm not bashing circles. I like the circular images, I just don't want one at this time. I needed to resize my image. I went to "Image", "Image size" and changed it to fit. I had to do this a couple of times to make it even.

You can see where to go, in the image below.

When it was finally the size I wanted I moved the picture over with a drag and drop.

See how nicely it fits in?

Next, I added my text and selected my fonts. Finally, saving my work and uploading it up to my Blog page.

I hope this was helpful! If you have any question I would love to hear from you.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

I've been watching and reading a ton of tutorials and all of them have helped me to start this blog. I posted a couple days ago a few of the other blogs that helped me, you can check that out here: http://fromtheshoe.blogspot.com/2014/10/in-with-new.html. One of my favorite things to use when building a blog is Photoshop.

In Photoshop I have created countless pieces for my foreveremmalouandyou.blogspot.com site. (You should totally go follow us on there.. it's for a good cause!) But, one of my favorite things to alter and tweek and just have fun with is Headers. There are more possibilities than just plain ol' black and white.

Here's how you do it!

1. Go into Photoshop. I have Photoshop version CS5.. super easy to learn.

Once you are in Photoshop open a New Project.

File-New or Ctrl+N. When the little screen pops up put in 970 Width by 315 Height. Your screen should look like this...

Hit "okay" and it will turn into this...

2. Now, you can change your background color or add a pattern. I'm going to leave mine white... because I like white :)

To find your custom shapes look to your tool bar, two spaces under the text icon there is a shapes icon. Hold it down and select the one that looks like a puddle of goo. Go up top to where it says "Shapes" and select your shape. I you need to download shapes there are tons for free on the web. Search: Free Custom Shapes Photoshop

and a bunch will pop up.

As you can see I added a frame. You can change the color with this or add a pattern overlay.. whatever you prefer.

3. Now, lets add some text to this.

You can see I added some Pink Text!

I'm trying to do this very general so that you really just getting the idea. I know that when I'm watching or reading a tutorial and there is too much information and I'm super new to something I kind of get confused. So, stick with me.

4. I'm not really liking how plain the background is so I think I'll add another frame behind my grey frame.

There we go, all little more character, huh? For the sake of this being the most simple header tutorial I'm going to leave it as is. You can customize this completely. Make it your own. Oh, and make sure you save your work.

5. Log into Blogger and go to your Layout.

Your screen should look something like this. See where it says Header? Click edit in the bottom, right corner of that box.

When the medium sized window appears click to add an image from your computer and toggle the button that says "Instead of Title and Description" and there you have it!

I hope this was helpful. As soon as I get a new camera (Colton dropped mine during a dramatic photo shoot and bent the lens), I'll be able to make better tutorials and what not. Let me know if you need any help, I'd be glad to lend a hand!

Monday, October 27, 2014

Yes, that is spit up on my shoulder. My youngest son, Benjamin (4 months this coming November 2nd) is a "Happy Spitter". It's pointless for me to change every time he spits up, that's how often it is. Also, I'm having like this gross reaction to something I've used on my face. The problem is that I have used like 10 new products this week so I have no clue which products is causing it.. so... no makeup.. sorry, not sorry.

On a less Vomitty note. The weather is getting colder and we all know what that means, pretty, new hats. My boys love hats.. well they did until my 5 yr old decided he's too cool to wear hats that his Mom made. When did that happen?

Anyway, I made my Middle Boy, Colton, a hat and he loves it. He's a good boy :) I also, made myself a slouchy hat and it came out great. Here we are with our hats.

Isn't he like the cutest 2 year old boy ever? I tell him he's my favorite 2 year old boy.. Middle child problems. He loves this hat. And honestly, I think Pher (5) is growing to like the idea of this hat as well. He actually asked me to make him one before my edit.

Here is how to make this Amazingly Simple Slouchy Hat.

Supplies:

Size 4 yarn in color of your choice.

Size I crochet hook

Yarn needle

I'm no good at patterns so stick with me and if needed... ask lots of questions. For a child's hat stop at Row 4 and jump to Row 7. Chain Two in the beginning of each round. This can be adjusted easily to your size needs.

Begin by making a magic circle and double crochet 8 times, end with a slip stitch and chain 2.

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Hello, Everyone! I'm so happy to be here, beginning my new blog about everything under the Sun! Honestly, I've had some trouble getting things going. I've used so many different resources to get this thing up and running, so, I thought I would let you guys know where I got my help.

Photoshop- Seriously, who is not using this? I pretty much taught myself how to use this incredible creating. Youtube.com is definitely PS's best ally. There are so many people on there ready to give tips and advice for us not-so-tech-savvy individuals. Awesome resource for starting your Blog. I used it to create my Header, up top there, and it was so simple to do. Maybe, I'll do a tutorial soon on how I made it.. it's something to think about.

Dafont.com- They have awesome fonts there. I found them by accident when I was looking for fonts for my Foreveremmalouandyou.blogspot.com blog. I'll tell you more about that blog before too long. Anywho, Dafont has great fonts and they are super easy to install. Go check them out when you have a moment..

Pinterest- Yeah, you probably saw this one coming, am I right? Everyone is using Pinterest, so what better way to find.. well... everyone? I searched for "Blogger" and a ton of Blogs about Blogging pulled up. There was HerandNicole.com, a great blog that helped me install my signature. SitGirls.com have tons of tutorials! Seriously, they helped me when I had zero clue what to do. Atypicalenglishhome.com has a bunch of helpful tips and tricks on her blog, super helpful. Those are just a few, the possibilities are endless with Pinterest because, as I said before, everyone is using it.

It's wonderful living in the age of technology when it comes to resources. Everything I need I found online. Go check out those other blogs, give them a follow and enjoy them, just as I do.

I know this post wasn't the most entertaining, but I thought you should know about all the great stuff I used to get going. Stay tuned, and give us a follow and some patience.. we're just getting started.